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Kepler's Supernova

1604 Supernova
2004 Composite Image
2004 Chandra High Energy X-Rays
2004 Chandra Low Energy X-Rays
2004 Hubble Visible Light
2004 Spitzer Infrared Radiation
Telescope Details
Principal Investigators

The Hubble Space Telescope's visible-light image reveals where the supernova shock wave is slamming into dense regions of gas emitted earlier by the parent star. The bright glowing knots are dense clumps that formed behind the shock wave.

Thin filaments of gas that look like rippled sheets seen edge-on are also visible. These reveal where the shock wave is encountering lower-density, more uniform interstellar material.

By comparing the Hubble observations with earlier images taken by ground-based telescopes, astronomers have been able to establish that the supernova remnant is about 13,000 light-years away.


Image from: Hubble Site

Click to view a high-resolution, full-colour image.